Eagles Nest
A cold wind blew in Petra’s face. Ten hours ago, she had been basking beneath a tropical sky. Now, she was huddled against a castle wall, grasping Mario’s hand and trying to keep warm. Mist swirled around them. Water dripped from an overhanging balustrade. The sky was clear in one direction and totally bleak in the other.
Chateau Montbec was perched on a precipice. Towering mountains dominated one side. Rolling hills fell away on the other. Mario said that, on a clear day, you could see as far as the great medieval city of Carcassonne. That’s what had given the castle such great strategic importance in the past.
The present owners called it the Eagle’s Nest after Adolf Hitler’s famous mountain retreat in Bavaria. Adolf went to his by car and entered a lift that took him up to his nest. The Cabal flew to theirs in private jets that put down at Toulouse international airport. Helicopters took over from there and landed on the castle tower.
They had flown to Toulouse in Cuthbert’s private jet. He picked them up in Maputo and whisked them away before they knew what was happening. The great man gave them no more than a nod of recognition when they boarded the plane and spent the entire trip in his personal cabin. It was the same on the helicopter. Hardly a word had passed between them.
They landed on the castle tower and Cuthbert left the helicopter beneath a shield of umbrellas. Petra was reminded of medieval emperors, leaving their carriages beneath a canopy of heraldic banners. Cuthbert’s umbrellas bore the logos of his TV-channels. There wasn’t much difference.
She and Mario were left in the rain while Cuthbert’s luggage was taken down a spiral staircase to somewhere warm below. Petra felt more like a prisoner than an honoured guest.
Carmel Mendez-Klein had never been an affectionate mother. Mario noticed that at an early age. She fussed over her spaniels more than she fussed over him. Perhaps that was because the spaniels couldn’t answer back and ask awkward questions. Mario was in a mood to ask awkward questions.
He had been separated from Petra and taken to his family’s quarters in the castle. His room was much as he had left it. The Green Peace posters were still on the walls and his microscope was still on his desk, gathering dust.
The door of his dressing room hung open. He went inside and hunted through his clothes. They would be dining in the Great Hall and he needed to look smart. Senior members of the Cabal were gathering for a special meeting.
That explained why Cuthbert had picked them up at Maputo in his private jet. He was about to leave Cape Town and fly to France. That was what all the rush was about. It wasn’t a special trip just for them. But it was one hell of a coincidence.
Special meetings of the Cabal were held for special reasons. Mario suspected that the present meeting had something to do with Richard de Villiers’ disappearance. The Cabal knew that Charlie was on to them and they knew about David. He had told his father that he and Petra had been taken prisoner by David. That would lead to a lot of questions.
Mario felt the need for extreme caution. He had stuffed up badly when he phoned his father. Petra had spoken to him about it. If the Cabal sent a team of investigators to Maputo they would uncover holes in his story. They might even locate David and Kate. Mario hoped they had vanished into a secret place where they couldn’t be found.
His mother would, no doubt, grill him on what happened during the eight days since Anna’s death. Mario decided that the best form of defence was attack. He would demand to know why he and Petra had been left shivering on top of the tower while bags and boxes were taken below, and he would want to know why he had been separated from Petra.